Editor
ON behalf of the Red Hill/Avoca Civic Association (RACA) and the residents of these areas, I place on record our sincere appreciation to Rory Macpherson and Heinz de Boer from the DA, Terry Goulding from the Land Invasion Unit and Mr Mohan from Marshall Security for their invaluable assistance during the recent invasion of municipality property on North Coast Road by squatters from the KwaMathambo settlement.
The invasion began peacefully on Saturday afternoon, and frantic calls by members of the executive committee to the authorities proved to be fruitless as no assistance was forthcoming. In a brief discussion with these squatters I was informed that they had been residents of the KwaMathambo settlement for many years prior to the fire that razed the settlement to the ground in August 2013. Empty promises to house them elsewhere were made to them the day after the fire by city officials. My appeal to them to stop the construction of shacks fell on deaf ears. In absolute desperation, we called Macpherson, De Boer and Goulding, who immediately came to our aid.
The illegal shacks were removed on Sunday morning by the Land Invasion Unit. Mr Macpherson courageously approached the squatters and spoke to them about their illegal actions. Later that day I was informed of a gathering of squatters who were on the rampage in North Coast Road. When I approached a few of them I noticed that they were armed with bushknives.
What followed on Sunday evening and continued into the early hours of Monday morning was violent, threatening and destructive. The squatters hurled debris, boulders, bottles and anything that could burn onto both North Coast Road and on both sides of Chris Hani Road. This created massive havoc and motorists battled to get through. Vehicles were stoned and prevented from driving on.
Mr Mohan and members of Marshall Security responded immediately to a call from us and in a very short space of time the road was cordoned off, thus preventing innocent motorists from being injured and their vehicles damaged. However, traffic had to be diverted through the Red Hill residential area. Unfortunately, not many residents got much sleep that night.
Bobby Maharajh
Chairman: Red Hill/Avoca Civic Association
